Say You Won't Let Go
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: Amanda wants to keep her old friendship strong but she won't choose her friend over her growing family. Ashley was never one to take what she perceived as abandonment well. Can things be fixed? (Co-written with werewolf-queen-022)
1. Going Too Far

_**11/19/18...**_

Ashley Hardy smashed the driver's window on Dean's rental car before heading down to the trunk and started to carve Seth's logo into it.

"Mess with our shit, I'll mess with yours." Ashley growled as she kept scratching the logo in.

She heard footsteps and looked up, seeing Amanda.

"Ash, what the hell are you doing?! Put that down! You can't fuck up someone's car, doesn't matter whose car it is!" Amanda replied, taking the keys… and Ashley turning furious at the pregnant brunette.

"This is Dean's car, I'm letting some good old stress out. Everyone had turned crazy so I figured, why don't I go crazy?!" Ashley responded.

"You're the only one who has gone crazy, no one else! Dean's playing mind games and you're the only one falling for it, do you see Seth vandalizing the car?!" Amanda responded angrily before she tossed the keys.

"Actually this was both our idea, he's in the middle of trying to lure Dean out front so I can bring the car around for him." Ashley explained.

"Corbin, Lashley and McIntyre already went off script tonight, you two really want to lose your jobs over some storyline?! Calm your asses down!" Amanda replied.

"Dean had gone unscripted one too many times or has your brain rotted enough from carrying that brat to forget those things?! You're not thinking clearly because Finn knocked you up!" Ashley shouted before Amanda slapped her.

"You know what, Ashley Louise? Do whatever you want. You always do… don't come around me or my family, I don't want you there for mine and Finn's son." Amanda responded before she turned and stormed off, Ashley realising that she hurt Amanda.

Amanda reached the hallway and Finn saw tears in her eyes and ran to her before they hugged… at the same time, Seth stopped and walked over to them in a cautious manner.

"Have either of you seen Ashley?" Seth questioned, Amanda glaring at him.

"Not the Ashley I grew up with. She insulted mine and Finn's child, that bitch is not being Liam's godmother." Amanda responded angrily.

"Hang on what do you mean she insulted your son and where the hell is she?" Seth asked.

"She called mine and Mandy's son a brat! Your crazy girlfriend was keying Dean's car." Finn responded, Seth turning to Amanda.

"I'm sorry she acted like that, Mandy. I don't know what's gotten into her lately… her hormones are really out of whack and it's not even that time for the month." Seth said.

"Parenthood is about to hit you both hard." Amanda responded, Seth turning wide eyed. "And damn it, I slapped her after she insulted Liam." She replied.

"Well that, I can understand, he's innocent. He didn't hurt her in any way." Seth responded.

"So you'll get her to take a test?" Amanda questioned.

"Wish me luck with that one." Seth said.

Seth went to find Ashley as Finn brushed Amanda's tears away.

"I don't know why I thought that she felt like that. Or why she insulted him and claimed that my brain is rotted." Amanda replied as she rested her right hand on her stomach and Liam kicked.

"I'm sure she didn't mean it Darlin'. She was just probably saying it in the heat of the moment." Finn responded as he rested his left hand under where Amanda's was… and Liam's kicks calmed down.

"He always does that for you…" Amanda responded with a smile before they kissed… and as their kiss turned more intense, they were interrupted by Baron.

"Finn, need to borrow your wife for a match against Ronda." Baron explained, grabbing at Amanda but Finn stopped him by putting himself in front of Amanda.

"Slam on the breaks there, Wolf Pup, she's not getting in that ring." Finn responded after turning to Baron.

"Especially when I'm nearly 7 months pregnant, Corbin, so kick rocks." Amanda replied.

"Fine where the hell is Ashley then?" Baron asked.

"Fuck off already, don't make me call Lars Sullivan and let him loose after you!" Amanda responded angrily, Baron jumping back… and scrambling away to find Mickie.

Seth found Ashley, who was putting her bags in their rented Chevy Traverse.

"Hey, there you are. Where have you been?" Ashley said.

"Calming Mandy after you insulted Liam. When you calm down, you better apologise." Seth responded.

"Apology for what exactly? She got in my way while I was on a warpath and she's obviously forgotten the fact Dean has pushed me down stairs and tried to ruin our relationship by posting a sex vid of us." Ashley responded before folding her arms.

"So you go and insult her baby?!" Seth responded.

"Don't you fucking start at me!" Ashley growled.

"Ash, do you want her cutting you out of Liam's life altogether?!" Seth questioned.

"Right now all I want is payback for what Dean has done to us!" Ashley yelled.

"And if you're pregnant, are you gonna risk our child's life?! If you are, you better start caring more about our son or daughter!" Seth shouted, Ashley turning startled.

"Your match against Shinsuke must have done some damage to your brain." Ashley said.

"You need to make sure because that's my child too." Seth responded before Ashley left.

At the hotel, Amanda was sleeping and Finn was watching her as he held her.

But Amanda's mind wandered again.


	2. Holding On Or Letting Go

_Ashley was walking around and saw Amanda sitting down, talking to Bayley… and Ashley walked over._

" _I'll talk to ya later." Bayley replied before she left, Ashley looking at Amanda._

" _What are you doing?" Ashley asked._

" _Last minute things before going on maternity leave." Amanda answered, Ashley turning startled._

" _So you're just leaving out of my life again?" Ashley asked._

" _Ash, I'm getting closer to my due date. What do you expect me to do, give birth and then just get back in that ring like it's nothing? This little guy takes priority over a career right now." Amanda replied, turning and heading to hers and Finn's locker room… but Ashley caught up to her and stopped her._

" _But what about us huh?! What about us?! Don't you care anymore?!" Ashley yelled, Amanda shoving her back as she had seen Ashley's right hand turn into a fist._

" _I'm not gonna choose between you and my growing family so don't force me to!" Amanda replied angrily before she headed into the locker room… and Ashley saw her packing her duffel bag as Finn walked in._

" _Hey, Darlin', you ready to go?" Finn asked as he grabbed Amanda's duffel bag for her._

" _Yeah. Let's go." Amanda responded before she entwined her right hand with Finn's left and the two left the locker room to head for the parking garage… and Ashley running after them._

 _Ashley caught up to them as Finn was helping Amanda into the rented Altima, Amanda buckling up and Finn closing the passenger door before he headed to the driver's side._

" _I've already lost too many people! I won't let you leave!" Ashley yelled._

" _You can't force her to stay!" Finn responded before he got in and they drove off as Ashley screamed that she would never let Amanda go…_

Amanda jolted awake, Finn lightly brushing her tears away and holding her closer to him.

"She's gonna try everything she can to keep me by her side…" Amanda replied as Finn rested his right hand on Amanda's stomach and Liam moved around.

"I'm not gonna let her hurt either of you, you and Liam mean too much to me." Finn responded before they kissed and held each other… and heard a knock at the adjoining door, knowing it was Luke.

"Hey Demon Lovers! Your clothes are on?" Luke asked.

"Yes, Luke." Finn responded before he helped Amanda sit up and walked to the adjoining door after turning the light on.

He opened it and let Luke in… and Luke saw that Amanda's eyes were red.

"Bad dream?" Luke asked.

Amanda nodded and Luke walked over and sat down before they hugged… only for him to yelp, the two letting go and Luke rubbing his side as Amanda rubbed her stomach.

"Sorry." Amanda replied.

"Nah he's probably thinking you were hugging a rock. So who wants to hear the latest in Firelovers vs The Lunatic?" Luke said.

"Actually… I don't, nightmare was about Ashley refusing to let Finn take me away from her." Amanda explained, Luke lightly rubbing Amanda's right shoulder.

"Well I guess that's what happens when you suffer from the fear of abandonment." Luke responded.

"We're not abandoning her, Mandy and I are putting Liam first." Finn responded.

"I know but in her eyes it feels like to her you two are leaving her." Luke said.

"Well when she and Seth have a family, she'll understand why me and Finn are putting this little boy first. Seth understands." Amanda replied as Finn sat down and rested his right hand on her back.

 _ **11/20/18**_ **…**

Ashley found Finn and Amanda in a McDonalds at about 7 in the morning and Finn setting both duffel bags aside before helping Amanda sit down and Amanda eating two sausage biscuits… nearby were three hashbrowns and a tea as Finn ate a sausage and egg croissant sandwich.

Ashley saw Finn lovingly rub Amanda's stomach as they kissed.

"He's asleep so he'll give you some time to rest. I know you're sore, love." Finn responded.

"It's worth every bit of it. Before we know it, we'll be holding him." Amanda replied.

Ashley couldn't see a soon to be father and mother… all she saw was the man that took her surrogate little sister away and created a child with her.

Ashley ordered her food, picked it up and left as Amanda made her way to the restroom.

It was when Finn and Amanda were back in their Brooklyn apartment that they kissed and Amanda grabbed a spare set of clothes and decided to go get cleaned off.

She stripped her makeup off, stripped her maternity skinny jeans and star print blouse off before pulling off her bra and underwear.

Carefully as she could, Amanda shaved her legs, arms and underarms and rinsed off the teal razor before turning the sink off and capping the razor and shaving cream.

She started up the shower after opening the glass door… grabbing her hair brush and hair clip, she walked in and set it on the soap dish as the water soaked her.

Once her hair was brushed out with a cinnamon scented leave in conditioner, Amanda clipped it up and scrubbed herself clean with a pumpkin spice scented shower gel and rinsed it off before unclipping her hair and rinsing the conditioner out.

Amanda dried off after turning the shower off, wrapping the oversized dark red towel around her and towel drying her hair before sprayed antiperspirant under her arms.

She sat down to pull her red boy short panties on and fuzzy red maternity pajamas pants on before she stood up and took the towel off before hung it up with the other one.

Amanda pulled on a white long sleeve maternity pajama shirt that had _Best Gift Ever_ printed on it in red.

And she couldn't help but think back.

 _ **August 20th 2018…**_

 _She was eying it even thought she knew she shouldn't… and then he spoke up._

" _Hey, I'll be right back, Ash. Can you watch the briefcase for me?" Braun replied._

" _Uh… yeah sure." Ashley said._

 _Braun nodded and left… and Ashley waited until she was sure he couldn't hear her before she picked it up and tiptoed out of the room._

" _Now way in hell you are cashing in on my man's friend." Ashley whispered before running down the hallways and without paying attention she ran into Finn's and Amanda's locker room._

" _Hey boys. Look at what I- oh shit wrong room!" Ashley said._

" _Braun's gonna kill you." Amanda responded, absentmindedly adjusting her bohemia v neck floral print maxi dress that concealed her growing baby bump as well as it could._

" _Do you have a deathwish?!" Finn asked._

" _Nah I like to think of it as living life to the extreme." Ashley said._

" _When people get older, they usually ease off of the throttle, Sis. We don't need Braun going ballistic and tearing up the arena like he did before the Royal Rumble." Amanda responded before she attempted to take the briefcase back but Ashley stopped her._

" _Jeez you make it sound like I'm old when I'm only 28." Ashley said._

" _30, soon to be 31." Amanda responded, Ashley remembering that her 31st birthday was coming up in October and that it was Amanda who had turned 28 back in June._

" _Alright I like to think I'm 28 so what?" Ashley asked._

" _Maybe because your younger sister and brother in law are having a baby and you're trying to keep from feeling aged?" Finn responded, Ashley nodding in agreement as she ignored the agitation she was feeling._

" _Time went by fast. How is the little one?" Ashley replied._

" _When we were at the appointment the other day, his fingers moved like he was waving at us." Amanda answered, her and Finn thinking that they're having a boy._

 _And Ashley saw Amanda glance at a picture of the two, Finn, Natalya and the recently deceased Jim Neidhart when they were a few years younger… and Finn lightly rubbed his right hand up and down Amanda's back as Ashley lightly squeezed Amanda's left hand._

" _Sorry… been spacing out a lot lately." Amanda responded as she brushed tears away._

" _To lose so many loved ones in such little time is upsetting, love." Finn replied gently._

" _It is. And you've got all those extra hormones." Ashley responded._

" _Is Seth still holding it against me that I threw a stapler at his head last week?" Amanda questioned._

" _Nah I told him to grow a fucking set of balls and get over it." Ashley said before they heard Braun yelling down the hallway. "I think that's my cue to run."_

 _Ashley left and Amanda closed the door._

" _I worry about her. We're not teenagers stealing briefcases or ring gear anymore." Amanda responded as Finn wrapped his arms around her waist._

" _I know you do but Ash is a big girl who can take care of herself." Finn replied._

" _Yeah." Amanda replied._

 _She knew he was right…_

 **Present time…**

' _Ashley does need to let go just a bit.'_ Amanda thought after walking to Finn, the two kissing… and Finn rubbed Amanda's stomach, Liam giving a sleepy kick.

"I know, little guy. I'm not happy with Ashley either." Finn whispered.

He felt like Ashley lied to him and Amanda about being happy about the baby.


	3. Priorities Change

Ashley couldn't believe what Jeff had told her.

"Run that by me again?!" Ashley asked.

"Mandy went on maternity leave, Ash." Jeff explained.

"She has really abandoned me." Ashley said.

"Ash, she didn't abandon you at all." Jeff responded.

"She did Jeff! She has fucking abandoned me!" Ashley yelled, tears running down her face.

"Priorities change, Ash. Mandy and Finn have to think of their baby. And if I can be honest, you stopped seeing her as family the day she told you about the baby! You acted like she got pregnant just to distance herself from you!" Jeff responded, Ashley glaring at him.

"Take that back!" Ashley growled.

"Nope. Admit it, you're angry because you thought Mandy would never be able to get pregnant. You feel like you were lied to when she said she has Endometriosis. She didn't lie, alright? And she didn't abandon you!" Jeff responded.

"So what now you gonna ditch me?!" Ashley yelled.

"I'm trying to get you to see how you're treating our little sister!" Jeff replied.

"How can you defend her when she's leaving us?! How can you just stand there and defend someone who is leaving us?!" Ashley asked.

"She's not leaving, you're pushing her away!" Jeff shouted.

"I haven't pushed her away!" Ashley yelled, before starting to leave.

"Where are you going?!" Jeff demanded.

"To the one person who I can count on because clearly I can't count on you!" Ashley yelled.

Jeff rolled his eyes and grabbed his phone, dialing Finn's number.

"Jeff, hey." Finn responded quietly, Jeff hearing Amanda's light snores in the background.

"Ash has gone off the deep end on a major level." Jeff said.

"She has which is why Mandy had to go on leave. Jeff, all this stress isn't good for her and Liam." Finn replied as he lightly rubbed Amanda's stomach and rested his head on it.

And just like his mother, Liam was sound asleep.

"He's letting her sleep?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah. Some nights, she doesn't get much sleep." Finn answered, lightly brushing Amanda's hair back. "I'm getting the feeling that I should call the police if Ash shows up here, right?" He questioned.

"No she wouldn't be looking for you guys she will be go to TJ who's at the…. aw shit!" Jeff said.

"Where's TJ?" Amanda questioned with half open eyes.

"At the beach party. There was a surfing competition in LA." Jeff said.

"That's where you all are still at, right?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, so she wouldn't have to go far." Jeff responded.

"Not to mention those beach parties and surfers get way out of hand with booze and pills." Amanda said.

"I'm gonna go get her." Jeff responded.

"Tie her up if you have to since she's being stubborn." Amanda replied.

"Can't do that if she's gone." Jeff said. "Something needs to be done though." He responded before he and Finn hung up.

"I swear, Ash is gonna make us all lose our minds. Why is it when we try to protect our baby from someone angry at him that they flip out and do something stupid or hurtful?" Amanda replied as she rested her right hand on her stomach and Liam kicked sleepily.

"She needs to stop lashing out at us and our son. Let's just hope Jeff gets to her in time before she does something that could kill her." Finn responded.

Amanda nodded before Finn picked her up and took her to their room, the two curling up in their bed.

Jeff found Ashley and took the beer from her before he picked her up over his right shoulder and took her to the car.

"You prick! I'm only just having a good time with my best friend!" Ashley yelled.

"No, you're hurting yourself just to try to get Mandy back here!" Jeff responded before he threw Ashley into the back of the car, locked it and drove off with her, Ashley blowing a raspberry at him.

"You suck! Why don't you go throw your wife onto a bed like that?!" Ashley said.

"Why don't you grow the fuck up?!" Jeff yelled.

"Do you seriously kiss your kids with that mouth?" Ashley asked, before starting to examine her elbows.

"With you, it feels like I'm raising three kids! You've been a bitch to Mandy, who just wants to live her life with the man she loves and a baby on the way!" Jeff responded.

"Hmm, elbows are very weird, they're like the knees of arms. Arm-knees!" Ashley said, before giggling.

"You're drunk." Jeff responded.

"I'm not drunk man. I wasn't even there long before you showed up." Ashley said.

"Then why are you acting so stupidly?" Jeff asked in frustration.

"The gummies." Ashley said before giggling.

Jeff floored it to the nearest hospital and dragged Ashley into its ER, explaining that she had been drugged and Ashley was taken to a treatment room as Jeff called Amanda.

"Find her?!" Amanda questioned.

"Yeah, drugged out of her mind. I'm gonna kill TJ." Jeff responded.

"Make sure a shark eats his corpse… why did I just say that? That was really dark." Amanda replied.

"Two words, hormones and stress." Jeff responded before he saw TJ walk in. "I'll call you back." He replied before they hung up.

"Oh hey dude what's up?" TJ asked.

"Yeah, what's up, punk?!" Jeff responded angrily before he punched TJ.

"What the fuck?!" TJ exclaimed.

"You drugged Ashley!" Jeff shouted.

"What?! No I didn't, I swear." TJ said.

"Liar!" Jeff shouted.

"Look, she was feeling down. Something about Mandy leaving. So I let her have a couple of my weed gummy bears." TJ responded.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Jeff responded angrily.

"Oh and what about you not keeping an eye on Mandy?! I told you that Finn Balor is a horny bastard, he didn't even use protection with Mandy!" TJ replied.

"She's his wife, they're allowed to have a family!" Jeff responded before Seth ran in.

"Where's Ashley?!" Seth questioned.

"How did you know we were here?" TJ asked.

"I couldn't reach her and I followed my instincts." Seth answered before Jeff guided him to the room.

Ashley opened her eyes slowly and saw Seth.

"Babe…" Ashley responded.

"You had me scared." Seth replied before they hugged.

"Why is everyone making such a big deal over a beach party?" Ashley asked.

"Because you're risking your health." Seth replied.

"Mandy's risking her health bringing her son into this world." Ashley responded.

"And that's her risk to take, like every other woman who gets pregnant. You just gotta have faith that she'll be alive and able to raise Liam. Is that why you were acting out, you're scared she'll die?" Seth replied.

"I don't want to talk about it." Ashley said.

"Ash, you can't hold it in. You don't think those fears aren't on Mandy's and Finn's minds? Yet they've chosen to keep their son." Seth responded gently.

"What if something does go wrong, what if she bleeds out and they can't save her or what if the pain causes her blood pressure to spike and she has a stroke or heart attack?!" Ashley replied as she brushed her tears away.

"I was worried too, I still am. But she's healthy, so is Liam. They're gonna be okay." Seth responded, brushing Ashley's hair back.

"I just want to forget about all of this for a while." Ashley said.

"Well whether you ignore it or not, it's not gonna change anything." Jeff responded.

Ashley knew he was right.


	4. Trying To Collect My Thoughts

_**6 ½ months ago…**_

 _The door to Finn and Amanda's room slammed open and then closed with as much authority as Finn pinned a half naked Amanda against the wall, arms above her head before they kissed again._

 _Finn picked Amanda up and took her to the bed, putting Amanda on it once she had slipped out of her shorts and he pulled his jeans off._

 _When they were fully naked, Finn was on top of Amanda and pressed her close to him so she could feel how his body was reacting to her touching him, Amanda letting out a low moan as Finn trailed his mouth along her neck and right shoulder before she felt his teeth lightly sink into the crook of her neck and her eyes went wide with a feral look in them._

" _Much better…" Finn responded in a raspy tone, glancing at the red and black_ _box of condoms Seth had left them… but ignored it._

 _Amanda could barely blink before Finn was on top of her, her legs having drifted apart and her feeling him brush it against her, which elicited a low moan as an indication of what she wanted._

 _"Fuck!" The brunette gasped out, not anticipating him to go so deep so quickly but he let her adjust by moving slowly and trailing light kisses up and down her neck.  
_

" _I won't hurt you… I love you too much to hurt you." Finn whispered, his fingers running through Amanda's_ _hair as they took it slow._

 _Amanda's pulse was at immeasurable levels as they moved faster, digging her nails into Finn's back… she moaned out as she felt Finn's fingers dig into her hips, the shockwaves of unadulterated bliss hitting them harder._

 _By the time they crashed from the high they were on, there was hardly anything left of their voices left after the screams… opening his bright blue eyes, Finn looked down at Amanda, who's hazel eyes slowly opened and she looked up at him_ _with an exhausted smile._

 _Once in each others arms and tangled up in the black bed sheets, Amanda rested her head on Finn's right shoulder as his left hand rested on her hip before they kissed… and closed their eyes._

 _They had let go of their stresses and felt a lot better now…_

 **Present time** _ **, 11/20/18…**_

Amanda answered her phone after walking into the living room.

"Dean, what do you want? You said we weren't talking, remember?" Amanda questioned after a sleepy yawn.

"You sound exhausted." Dean responded.

"Well I'm carrying a heavy and squirmy baby who treats my ribcage like a wrestling ring, am I supposed to not be exhausted?" Amanda replied with some sarcasm.

"Yikes, little lady, chill." Dean said in response.

"Ashley hates me, Dean… that doesn't hurt me as much as her hating mine and Finn's son." Amanda replied as she placed her right hand on her stomach and Liam kicked against it… and Dean knowing she was saddened about how Ashley was acting.

"Kiddo, Ashley doesn't hate your baby." Dean responded.

"Yes she does. What else explains her erratic behavior? She's not drinking, gambling and abusing pills again, I would've noticed if she was doing that." Amanda replied.

"Look I'm not suppose to say anything but I'll tell you. Her and Seth had a major fight about 5 months ago and things have been a bit ugly between them since." Dean explained.

"A fight about kids… he doesn't want any for a while but she wants to settle down." Amanda responded once she realised it.

"Yeah and I think she's getting sick on waiting for him to be ready." Dean replied.

"Seeing her little sister settle down just sent her over the edge." Amanda responded as she felt Finn's arms around her waist.

"Why didn't she just tell us? We wouldn't have said anything." Finn replied.

"You're gonna have to ask her that, you two." Dean responded before he and Amanda hung up.

 _ **11/23/18…**_

Ashley showed up at the apartment and was about to speak up when Amanda spoke first.

"Before you ask, I know why you've lashed out and honestly, you should've told me in the first place. I'm sorry that Seth doesn't want children at this point in his life but you taking it out on me and claiming I abandoned you is cruel." Amanda responded, Ashley taken aback by that.

"There's more to the story Mandy." Ashley said.

"What, that you didn't feel like Finn and I could be trusted with the truth?! You and I have known each other for 17 years and I've never kept anything from you no matter how much you hated hearing it!" Amanda replied.

"No Mandy I wanted to trust you but I just didn't know how to tell you. There's even more and even Matt and Jeff or TJ don't know about this next part." Ashley responded.

"Then tell me." Amanda responded… but instead, Ashley stood up and tried to leave. "Ash, come on. Why won't you tell me?" She replied as she stood up, Ashley turning back to her.

"When I decided I wanted to settle down I went and got checked by a doctor to make I haven't done too much damage with my past addictions... turns out because of that I'm more likely to go through menopause earlier." Ashley explained.

"Damn…" Amanda responded.

"And I wasn't willing to risk it like you took your risks." Ashley replied.

"So your answer was to slowly shove me away? Refuse to get to know your nephew?" Amanda questioned, Ashley looking away.

"Why should I get to know him? He'll just remind me of what I can't have." Ashley responded after looking back at Amanda... and it was clear that Amanda was hurt by that.

Amanda turned and walked into the bedroom, tears in her eyes… and Ashley hearing the door slam and lock and running to it, knocking on it.

"Mandy, open up! I wasn't trying to hurt you!" Ashley explained as Finn walked into the apartment and put the pizza down on the table to cool.

"What happened, why is she crying in there?" Finn questioned after closing the door and running to the door, knocking on it.

"Get her out of here!" Amanda responded through her sobs.

"Fine I'm gone!" Ashley replied before she left.

Finn unlocked the door and ran to Amanda, pulling her into his arms and lightly rubbing her back to comfort her.

"She keeps telling me half of the truth, she won't tell me all of it!" Amanda replied once her sobbing had subsided, looking up at Finn who was brushing her tears away.

"Maybe she's having a really hard time opening up her heart and I know it's not fair to you because you feel like you're being jerked around. Who's the one person who she can really rely on when it comes to talking about deep personal things?" Finn responded.

"It used to be her brothers and friends… I don't know where I stand in her life now, Finn." Amanda responded.

"Do you think since you got half it out, maybe someone else like…. Jeff can get the rest out?" Finn asked.

"He might be able to…" Amanda responded as they stretched out on the bed.

"Did you want to give him a call and tell him what you know?" Finn asked.

Amanda nodded and called Jeff after Finn got her to eat, Amanda telling Jeff what Ashley had told her.

"I don't even have to get anywhere near her to know the rest." Jeff said.

"So why won't she tell us?" Finn questioned.

"Because she's scared that's why. We've all got kids of our own and she's scared she's gonna be left with no kids of her own to love. I know she wants a big family and she might only get 10 years to do that. To us that seems like ages, but for someone with her condition it seems like a very small amount of time." Jeff explained. "And when that girl gets scared she shuts herself off from the rest of the world, especially with something that major."

"And lashes out…" Amanda replied, rubbing her stomach as Liam kicked.

"Yeah she's only got 10 years, give or take, to have a family and she feels like time is running out quickly." Jeff said.

Amanda knew that Ashley wouldn't be happy about her knowing the full truth.


	5. With Everything We Know

_**11/26/18…**_

"We've got a problem, Ashley's not in her locker room." Alexa explained after walking into Baron's office, Baron looking up.

"Where the hell is she?" Baron asked.

"I don't know. Doc said something about her being on medical leave." Alexa responded before Baron called Amanda.

"I've told you, call my other number if it's business related." Amanda replied, readjusting her _Workout Or Take A Nap?_ top.

"Ashley's gone." Baron said.

"She was in the ER last week. No one told you?" Amanda replied.

"Why was she there?" Baron asked, as Alexa tried to ring Ashley's phone and got Jeff instead.

"What is it, Blondie?" Jeff asked.

"Why are you answering your sister's phone?" Alexa asked.

"Because it was in her locker room and I came looking for her." Jeff replied.

"Baron! She's left her phone behind!" Alexa said.

"Did I hear that right?" Amanda questioned.

"Yes, now go find her." Baron responded.

"Look, she and I got into a fight last week when I tried to get an explanation so we're giving each other space." Amanda replied.

"I can verify that. If you're so worried, why don't one of you go find her instead of trying to send a pregnant woman to find Ash?" Jeff responded.

"How can you speak about your sister like that?! This could be a life threatening situation!" Alexa replied.

"Have you known her for at least 30 years? No you haven't, I have. She knows how to handle herself, if she's left her phone behind, she doesn't want to be found by anyone." Jeff responded.

"She showed up at Mandy's place." Baron grumbled.

"So your solution is to send Mandy to go find her? Then again, this isn't the first time you've tried to endanger Liam." Jeff responded.

"The hell does that mean?!" Baron demanded.

"Trying to force Mandy to wrestle while she's pregnant, Corbin!" Finn replied, which made Baron jump as he had no idea that Finn was on the phone but had assumed that Amanda had handed the phone to Finn.

"Look while you and Bliss will be chasing your tails, Corbin, I'll be out there looking for her." Jeff said before he hung up.

Finn and Baron hung up and Finn held Amanda in his arms.

"Where could she have gone now?" Amanda whispered, before her phone chimed and seeing a text message from Jeff.

' _Any beaches or cliffs in the area?'_

' _Long Island, I think.'_ Amanda responded.

' _I'll start there, you try to rest.'_ Jeff replied.

Amanda was about to respond but felt a twinge of pain in her stomach and Finn saw tears form in her eyes and turned worried.

"All this stress, it's way too early for him to be born." Finn responded before he helped Amanda sit up and went to go get the baby bag and keys and then picked Amanda up into his arms before taking her to the elevator.

After some time, Jeff found Ashley at the beach… and Ashley looked up at him.

"How did you know where to find me?" Ashley asked.

"Because I'm your big brother and can find you anywhere in this world." Jeff said.

The two hugged and Jeff called Amanda… but Finn picked up.

"Jeff, we're at the hospital, Mandy was hurting." Finn explained, Ashley's and Jeff's eyes widening.

"Is Liam okay?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah, he's okay... Mandy and I were worried he'd be born early but it was just a scare." Finn responded as he lightly rubbed Amanda's right wrist.

"Good that they're okay…" Jeff replied before Ashley nudged him and he handed the phone to her.

"I'm sorry if it was my fault." Ashley said.

"Not completely… Corbin called, wanting Mandy to go looking for you, Jeff told him off for it." Finn responded.

"You did?" Ashley asked after looking at Jeff.

"Had to, he's trying to harm our sister and nephew." Jeff replied, Ashley nodding.

"I was gonna tell Seth about it…. but I panicked and ran." Ashley said.

"I told him that I thought you might've been pregnant but he said you laughed it off." Amanda explained.

"Mandy I'm not pregnant." Ashley said.

"I know, that's what I thought was going on when you were destroying Dean's car and Seth had said your hormones were out of whack." Amanda explained, Ashley realising it.

"That's why he thought I was putting a child at risk by acting like that." Ashley responded.

"He wanted to take responsibility." Amanda replied, rubbing her stomach as Liam kicked, Ashley sighing.

"I want to tell him about how I've got a much higher risk of going through menopause early, but at the same time I don't want to pressure him into something he's not ready for." Ashley explained.

"Ash, you've gotta tell him so he'll know." Amanda responded.

"I know Mandy but I also don't want to put in a situation that's he's not ready for. This isn't like the time he flipped out over the chainsaw Finn used at NXT TakeOver Dallas." Ashley said.

"If I recall right, you flipped out too." Finn responded.

"Hey hey, we having a loving moment here, no fighting." Jeff said, Ashley letting out a sigh.

"Finn's right I did flip out as well." Ashley responded.

"Well it was scary but Amanda was protected the entire time." Jeff replied.

"Yeah, true." Ashley responded.

When they reached the hospital, they saw Amanda eating food from McDonalds.

"Who smuggled the goodies in?" Ashley asked.

"I did."

The two turned, seeing Bryan walk in with a half empty cup of coffee in his hand.

"Everyone holding down the fort okay, Hellraiser?" Ashley asked.

"Fucking Baron had got everyone flying into a panic about you, Ash." Bryan said.

"And he's still denying that he's putting Mandy and Liam in danger." Jeff replied.

"When I get my hands on him, I'm gonna strangle him." Finn responded as Ashley rested her right hand on Amanda's stomach and felt Liam kick against her hand.

"Ash can I ask why did you do a runner?" Bryan asked.

"It's complicated Bryan, I've found out something that will affect me later on in life." Ashley said.

"Okay I wouldn't ask anymore questions, but whenever you are ready to talk about it I'll listen." Bryan said, Ashley nodding.

"Bryan, when you found out you couldn't have kids, how did you tell Lara?" Ashley asked.

"Well firstly I got piss drunk because I couldn't handle the news, I panicked and started to worry that she would leave me for someone else. But I loved her too much to keep that a secret from her, so I just told her." Bryan explained.

And Amanda knew that Ashley was planning to tell Seth.


End file.
